Creating an Oral Health Advocacy Toolkit

Transcription

1 Creating an Oral Health Advocacy Toolkit Helping Dental Professionals Become Effective Advocates Presentation for the USCF DPH Seminar Series Vinodh Bhoopathi, Temple Univ Kornberg School of Dentistry Matt Jacob, Children s Dental Health Project Tuesday, October 30, 2018

2 I. Events & observations that led to this project II. The toolkit s purpose and related activities III. Developing the toolkit a. The philosophy b. The process c. The structure IV. Insights from external reviewers V. Use by Temple s honors program VI. Dissemination plans Outline

3 Background 3

4 Background 4

5 Background 5

6 Background 6

7 Background 7

8 Embracing a broad definition... to speak up, to plead, or to champion for a cause while applying professional expertise and leadership to support efforts on individual (patient or family), community, and legislative/policy levels, which result in the improved quality of life for individuals, families, or communities. Source: Wright C.J., Katcher M.L., Blatt S.D., Keller D.M., Mundt M.P., Botash A.S. and Gjerde C.L. Toward the development of advocacy training curricula for pediatric residents: a national Delphi study. Ambulatory Pediatrics. 2005, 5:3, ,

9 Background It is unclear, however, whether all graduating predoctoral dental and dental hygiene students in the United States are trained in oral health advocacy and, if so, how sufficient this training is. For example, a 2013 study 1 cited the importance of dentists promoting water fluoridation in their communities but observed that current undergraduate dental curricula do not adequately prepare dentists for this advocacy role. 1. Melbye ML, Armfield JM. The dentist s role in promot-ing community water fluoridation: a call to action for dentists and educators. J Am Dent Assoc 2013;144:

10 Background Evidence or impact of advocacy training in dental curriculum? Scarce A 2016 study 1 of pediatric dentists: Those willing to advocate for water fluoridation were more likely to have received training in advocacy during dental education (OR=2.67, 95% CI: , p<0.0001), compared to those who were not willing 1. Vishnevetsky, A., Mirman, J., & Bhoopathi, V. (2017). Effect of Advocacy Training During Dental Education on Pediatric Dentists Interest in Advocating for Community Water Fluoridation. Journal of Dental Education 82(1),

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12 HRSA FOA Program Purpose The goal of the announcement was to enhance clinical pediatric predoctoral dental and dental hygiene training focusing on children ages 0-5 to improve the oral health of vulnerable, underserved, and rural pediatric populations. Applications must demonstrate how they will: Integrate or enhance pediatric dental or dental hygiene training in the core student curriculum; Increase or enhance clinical experiences for dental students with pediatric populations in community-based sites; and Incorporate population health and social determinants of health into their training. programs designed to address risk factors common to childhood obesity and dental caries 12

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14 One of my proposed goals: Prepare the next generation of Temple University School of Dentistry graduates who are able to address social determinants of health and population health principles in improving the oral health of vulnerable and underserved groups, including children under five and their families. Proposed 10 objectives HRSA FOA One objective: Develop an Oral Health Advocacy Toolkit and coursework to provide dental students with additional public health advocacy skills. 14

15 Purpose of the toolkit In support of this objective, the Temple University s Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry developed this toolkit primarily for dental, dental hygiene, and dental residency programs that wish to initiate advocacy training or refine their existing courses to instill an awareness of advocacy, identify and explain its many components, and provide tools and templates to support advocacy. The associations and societies that represent dentists and dental hygienists are also encouraged to develop training programs that educate and train practicing dental professionals to become effective oral health advocates. 15

16 Colloboration 16

17 Developing the toolkit: The philosophy 17

18 The 3 types of advocacy Self-Advocacy Individual Advocacy Systematic Advocacy SPEAKING UP FOR YOURSELF SPEAKING UP ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE SPEAKING FOR THOSE WHO CAN T SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

19 Advocacy is a set of strategies and actions that are used to influence a variety of audiences.

20 What kinds of strategies and actions? Writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper urging more coverage of oral health issues that affect your community Providing testimony to a state legislative committee about how a bill would impact dental coverage for adults Tweeting about the harms of frequent consumption of soda Talking to the local Rotary Club about unmet oral health needs Submitting online comments about a proposed change in federal dietary guidelines Participating in a rally to support funding for a new health clinic Speaking to parents at a local health fair about the importance of drinking fluoridated tap water rather than bottled water

21 Developing the toolkit: The process 21

22 First steps: Guidelines & an online scan Follow AHRQ s guidelines for developing and publishing a toolkit (for example): Identifying the toolkit s target users Using action verbs and gender-neutral words Provide examples for how each tool or component should be used Testing the toolkit before finalizing its content Making it well-organized (table of contents and/or site map) Use a consistent font, color template and style to create a cohesive look

23 First steps: Guidelines & an online scan Follow AHRQ s guidelines for developing and publishing a toolkit Conduct an online scan of toolkits that have focused on oral health or other health disciplines (assessing their scope and quality of content)

24 Our scan identified dozens of toolkits for advocacy

25 Our scan identified dozens of toolkits for advocacy

26 Our scan identified dozens of toolkits for advocacy

27 Our scan identified dozens of toolkits for advocacy

28 Our scan identified dozens of toolkits for advocacy

29 What our online scan revealed Existing toolkits generally excluded or barely cited key components such as: o How to identify new partners o Media strategies to consider o Planning an advocacy campaign Existing toolkits rarely included worksheets or templates

30 Insights from external reviewers 30

31 Phase 1 of external review: Staff/officers at advocacy organizations Advise them to share the right data and not engage in a data dump Maintain a policymaker s trust by not rushing to answer a question before confirming it s accurate Stress that the policy environment can suddenly shift so advocates must observe and adapt to these changes Encourage advocacy leaders to make it easy for people to participate in advocacy

32 Phase 2 of external review: Attendees at National Oral Health Conf. Offer templates or other tools that make the toolkit more usable Promote a broader definition of what advocacy is Market the toolkit beyond dental/dental hygiene schools A sign-up sheet was circulated to collect names of additional individuals who were willing to participate in a 3rd stage of review.

33 Phase 3 of external review: Academic reviewers Clarify that advocacy can occur in simple ways and need not be part of a formal campaign Emphasize the importance of identifying nontraditional allies Urge dental professionals to pursue their needs as providers in tandem with efforts to expand access to care, strengthen prevention, etc. Mention the importance of being familiar with state lobbying disclosure laws

34 Developing the toolkit: The structure 34

35 Structure of the toolkit Introduction: What is advocacy? Define that advocacy can take various forms Clarify that advocacy can be episodic or part of a larger campaign

36 Structure of the toolkit Introduction: What is advocacy? 13 Components of effective advocacy 1. Creating a culture of advocacy 2. Understanding the decision-making process 3. Setting advocacy goals 4. Knowing your audiences 5. Choosing allies, building coalitions 6. Developing effective messages 7. Finding and presenting data 8. Identifying modes and messengers 9. Framing messages 10. Establishing a media presence 11. Meeting with decision-makers 12. Mobilizing supporters 13. Managing an advocacy campaign

37 Structure of the toolkit Introduction: What is advocacy? 13 Components of effective advocacy Tools & worksheets Templates, checklists and other tools that can be used to support the 13 components

38 Introduction: What is advocacy? 13 Components of effective advocacy Tools & worksheets Appendices Structure of the toolkit A offers additional resources to explore B provides scenarios for faculty to assign or explore with their students

39 Pilot-testing the toolkit: Temple s Emerging Community Dental Student Leadership honors program 39

40 Honors program Objective: Foster the interests of selected dental students and develop their skills in: advocacy, community engagement/outreach and leadership that will enhance their competencies to become effective community leaders. Outreach/ Engagement Advocacy Leadership Community

41 2 hour lecture 14 students Honors program Take Home Assignments students into groups, analyze case scenarios and apply the components of advocacy 41

42 Plans for the toolkit s dissemination 42

43 Dissemination strategies include: Promote and share at relevant conferences Dissemination through key stakeholders: ADEA ASDA Other dental stakeholders National Oral Health Conference Share with dental trade media Write a journal article about the toolkit s development and vetting Use social media to promote it 43

44 Acknowledgement This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number and title for grant amount (D85HP30828, Predoctoral Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene, $1,559,006). Project Director: Dr. Vinodh Bhoopathi 44

45 External Reviewers Melissa Burroughs, BA, Oral Health Campaign Manager, Families USA Matt Crespin, MPH, RDH, Associate Director, Children s Health Alliance of Wisconsin Eileen Espejo, BS, Senior Managing Director, Media & Health Policy, Children Now Paul Glassman, DDS, MA, MBA, Professor and Director of Community Oral Health, University of the Pacific School of Dentistry Anne Gwozdeck, RDH, BA, MA, Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the Dental Hygiene Graduate Program, University of Michigan School of Dentistry Helen Hendrickson, MPA, Senior State Advocacy Manager, Community Catalyst Sarah Bedard Holland, MS, BS, Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Oral Health Coalition Lisa A. Maxwell, MSM, BS, Clinical Assistant Professor & Dental Hygiene Program Director, Indiana University School of Dentistry Alex Mitchell, DMD, MS, National Vice President, American Student Dental Association Howard Pollick, BDS, MPH, Professor of Preventative and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry. 45

46 Vinodh Bhoopathi, MPH, CAGS, DScD Assistant Professor Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University E: Matt Jacob, BA Communications Director Children s Dental Health Project E: mjacob@cdhp.org Follow CDHP on Facebook or 46